Valuing Our Life Support Systems – 2014

The Natural Capital Initiative host our second ‘Valuing our Life Support Systems’ natural capital summit on 6th & 7th November 2014. Since our launch summit in 2009, a growing number of influential activities have emerged across all sectors within the natural capital space – from networks to research programmes, committees to coalitions. This emerging hive of activity is testament to the traction the natural capital concept has gained with a variety of audiences. Five years on, we brought together 250 influencers from across academia, policy, business, and civil society within this expanded community and beyond to assess gains made and further enable the valuing of natural capital in planning and decision-making based on sound science.

The summit aimed at:

Deriving a common understanding of what natural capital really means

Understanding in plain language the natural and social science behind it

Finding and demonstrating ways in which sectors and initiatives can work, and are working, together to apply it

Identifying ways of ensuring that practical responses have scientific rigour

Communicating recommendations for ways forward across the sectors.

Please follow the links below to view presentations and videos from the event.

An interdisciplinary panel session to reflect on the underlying principles of natural capital.

Chair: Ece Ozdemiroglu, eftec

Dr Drew Purves, Microsoft Research

Matthew Agarwala, University of East Anglia

Ian Dickie, eftec

Linking Natural Capital and Other Capital

An investigation into how natural capital relates to other forms of capital, such as social, economic and human capital.

Chair: Jawed Khan, ONS

Dorothy Maxwell, Global View Sustainability Services

Carlota Garcia-Manas, EIRIS

Tim O’Riordan, University of East Anglia

How Good is our Knowledge?

Examination of existing databases, models and knowledge, and how well they support natural capital concepts and practical implementation.

Chair: Professor Bill Sutherland, University of Cambridge

Dr Tom Oliver, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Dr Felix Eigenbrod, University of Southampton

Natural Capital and Economic Growth

This session will explore the business case of how safeguarding the health of ecosystems is fundamental to the health of UK plc, how businesses have engaged with this complex area, and what challenges remain to be tackled.

Host: The Aldersgate Group

Chair: Peter Young, The Aldersgate Group

Rowland Hill, Marks and Spencer

Mike Sewell, Kier Group

Karen Ellis, WWF-UK

Stephanie Hime, KPMG

Parallel Sessions 2

Ethics of Natural Capital

Discussion of the ethical dimension of the natural capital concept, the anthropocentric view of ecosystem services, rights of other organisms and limits of economic valuation.

Chair: Richard Spencer, ICAEW

Victor Anderson, Global Sustainability Institute

Camilla Toulmin, IIED

Nick Dearden, World Development Movement

Natural Capital and Health

The evidence for how natural capital can deliver human health benefits.

Chair: David Pencheon, NHS

Mathew White, European Centre for Environment and Human Health

Dr Sari Kovats, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Hilary Graham, University of York

Cultural Services

The relationship between natural capital and cultural services.

Steve Albon, James Hutton Institute

Andrew Church, University of Brighton

Robert Fish, University of Exeter

Natural Capital Mapping

How are environmental science data translated into maps, and how can businesses and policy makers use this information?

Chair: Nick Dales, Natural England

Jonathan Winn, Durham Wildlife Trust

John Watkins, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Keynote Addresses.

UK Government Perspective on Natural Capital

Ulrike Hotopp, Defra

Natural Capital: Where are we now?

Jo Pike, World Forum on Natural Capital

Natural Capital Coalition for Business

Pieter van der Gaag, Natural Capital Coalition

Panel Discussion

Chair: Alison Hester

After dinner speaker

Steve Ormerod, Cardiff University and Chair, RSPB Council

Keynote Addresses - Future Directions

Future Directions: Conservation

Glyn Davies, WWF

Future Directions: Health

Anthony Kessel, Public Health England

Future Directions: Business and Accounting

Will Evison, PwC

Future Directions: Business and Sustainability

Inder Poonaji, Nestle S.A.

Panel Discussion

Chair: Professor Alison Hester

Parallel Sessions 3

Partnerships for Land and Water Management

This session will showcase and analyse examples of partnerships for land and water management resulting in benefits for business and the public and discuss how these can be extended to other situations

Chair: Edward Maltby , University of Liverpool

Alastair Maltby, Rivers Trust

Natasha Barker-Bradshaw, WWF-UK

Natural Capital and Storytelling

This session will investigate innovative ways to communicate the concept of natural capital by engaging decision makers from a wide range of sectors with a particular focus on Surrey Nature Partnership’s experience with business, linking with Smart Economic Growth.

Host: Surrey Nature Partnership

Chair: Mark Pearson, Surrey Connects

Sarah Jane Chambwindira, Surrey Wildlife Trust

Ron Donaldson, Ecology of Knowledge

Natural Capital: The Next 25 Years

This session will provide participants with the opportunity to provide ideas for the Natural Capital Committee’s national 25-year plan for maintaining and improving our natural capital.

Host: Natural Capital Committee

Julian Harlow, NCC

Georgina Mace, NCC

Giles Atkinson, NCC

Ian Dickie, eftec

Parallel Sessions 4

Managing Land for the Benefit of Society

How can landscapes be managed to sustain water resources for business and public benefit?

Chair: Ruth Waters, Natural England

Richard Brazier, University of Exeter

Tom Nisbet, Forest Research

Lewis Jones, South West Water

Corporate Stewardship for Natural Capital

How can different sectors (e.g. water, forestry, finance) incorporate natural capital in their operations? Can thinking of ecosystems as natural capital accelerate or inhibit stewardship on the ground?

Host: WWF-UK

Chair: Stuart Poore, WWF-UK

Gemma Cranston , Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership

David Norman, SABMiller

Natural Capital and Food Security

How do we manage our natural capital wisely in light of global change? With food security as an example, how can sustainable use of our resources contribute to resolving future challenges?

Chair: Peter Costigan

Tara Garnett, Environmental Change Institute

Allan Buckwell, IEEP

Andrew Clark, NFU

Parallel Sessions 5

Natural Capital and Cities

This session will investigate how the notion of natural capital can be incorporated into the strategic planning of UK cities.

Chair: Martin Ballard, Willmott Dixon Group

Nick Grayson, Birmingham City Council

Euan Hall, Land Trust

Natural Capital: Finding the Common Ground

This session will explore how the Scottish Forum on Natural Capital came in to being and examine progress during its first year of operation.

Host: Scottish Forum on Natural Capital

Chair: Jo Pike, Scottish Forum on Natural Capital

Bruce Wilson, Scottish Wildlife Trust

Mike Elm, Scottish Forum on Natural Capital

Mary Christie, Scottish Natural Heritage

Developing Natural Capital for Investors

The financial industry is beginning to engage with the concept of natural capital. This session will identify ways to make natural capital tangible for investors.